As Holiday Season Nears, Candy Cane Production Ramps Up

If demand for candy canes goes any higher, the Spangler Candy Co.
may want to ask Santa Claus for some tips on meeting tight production
schedules.

With Christmas less than a month away, Spangler's manufacturing
plants in Ohio and Juarez, Mexico, are at record production levels
— cranking out 3 million canes daily.

The company, which also makes Dum Dums, Saf-T-Pops, and Circus
Peanut candies, has been in a rush since June to increase candy cane
production.

Output at the northwest Ohio factory, which had operated two
eight-hour shifts five days a week through May, moved to three shifts a
day in June. In September, the three-shift schedule was extended to
Saturdays, the first time in its history that its work went six days
around the clock.

On an average day this fall, eight to 16 semi-tractor trailer trucks
arrive at the plant to haul away the canes.

At Juarez, three production shifts have been running all year five
days a week. In September, Saturdays were added.

When production begins to decrease in early December,
Spangler's candy cane sales will be only about 10 percent above
last year's. But monthly factory activity since September has been
about 30 percent over past years, said CEO Dean Spangler.

The reason for the surge is a combination of luck and unexpected
demand, he said.

"One retailer, they'll be using over 1,200 truckloads just to
service that retailer alone," Spangler said. "We're very busy, but
it's a great problem to have."

Last year, the company heard rumblings that some top customers
planned to buy candy canes from lower-cost manufacturers in China.
Concerned it would get stuck with unwanted inventory, the company
slowed first-quarter production.

But Spangler said that the Chinese threat never emerged.

By June, customers were placing even bigger orders than before, and
two retailers of specialty candy canes also chose to increase
orders.

"We had to scramble to fulfill the customer demands," Spangler
said.

Even when production is reduced in December, employment in Bryan
will stay higher than a year ago, he said. It's now about 415
hourly workers.

Teresa Tarantino, editor-in-chief at Professional Candy Buyer
magazine, said Spangler was correct to take the Chinese threat
seriously.

"China is a major supplier of candy," she said. "There is a lot of
product coming in from China, but there are still a lot of issues
regarding their meeting quality standards."